Crush: Another Choice, An Old Foe
by Hickumu
Summary: Ties into my story "Passions, Another Choice". Spoilers for "Crush". Giles, as he returns home, runs into an old friend. Well, not quite a friend. Emotional nastiness, angst, Dru insanity, and Buffy aid results.
1. Dru and her Daddy

* * *

If you have not read my other story, _Passions: Another Choice, Another Foe,_ I strongly suggest you do so. Otherwise, this will make very little sense. In case you don't have that kind of time, the short version is this: I wrote twenty-nine chapters describing what would have happened if, in _Passions_, Buffy had left Giles to die in the fire while she killed Angel. The result was that Giles becomes a vamp and essentially takes Angel's place as Season Two's Big Bad.

And, somehow, I developed a fondness for our favorite little psycho Dru. I think I realized it when I wrote the scene where she stabs Willow with the scissors. And, I don't know about you, but I was so happy to see her and Spike back together, even if it was only for _Crush_. I am still a rabid Spike/Dru shipper.

But while I was writing, the relationship that evolved between Giles and Dru fascinated me. I thought I might address the repurcussions of that here. I wasn't even going to bring Giles back, but he got brought back at the same time as Darla and returned to Sunnydale.

For those who loved _Passions, Another Choice_...I hope this meets your standards. This won't go past five chapters, and will probably only be two or three.

Enjoy.

* * *

It had been a fairly quiet night. He'd spent a few hours watching over the Summers' house while Buffy took some very well-deserved rest. Giles was glad to see that she'd made good use of it.

He parked his car outside his apartment, got out, and started up the path towards his front door.

He was just fumbling for his keys when he heard the voice. The voice right behind him.

The terribly, horribly familiar voice.

"Hello, Daddy…"

He whirled round, panic clearly evident on his face.

Because there she was, just on the edge of his porch. In a slinky black evening gown, a fancy brooch at her throat. Her long black hair cascading down her back, her mad eyes reflecting the moonlight.

"Dru…" he whispered, fear building in his stomach, then he cursed at how her name came so easily. Her nickname, her pet name, the name he'd called her so affectionately for months.

Drusilla giggled shyly, covering her mouth. "Oh! You remember me!" She smiled dreamily at him. Giles noted with dread that she was standing directly in his path back to the car, and if he wanted to get the door open he would have to turn his back on her. Turning your back on Drusilla, no matter how much of a good mood she was in, was not a good idea. He'd learned that.

Oh, he'd learned that.

"But after all, how could you forget me?" Drusilla purred, taking a few steps forward. "I was your sweet little girl, your little Dru, and you were my Daddy. Oh, I've missed you so…"

Giles fumbled in his pocket, and miraculously his hands closed on a cross. He yanked it out and held it protectively in front of him.

"Get thee behind me," he hissed through clenched teeth. Now it wasn't just fear. It was anger, rage, at the sight of this reminder of months of his life he tried every night to forget forever.

Drusilla hissed, too, recoiling with her hands held up protectively. She backed away to the edge of the porch, and when she lowered her arms again her lower lip was trembling. She looked so much like a little girl when she did that. So much so that you might forget what a monster she really was.

He had.

But only because he'd been a monster just as bad.

"Oh…" she said sadly. "Oh…I should have realized…I'm such a bad girl. I should have known…" Her face changed into its vampiric form, evil and harsh. "_They _changed you. They brought back dear Darla and they brought back you. And I looked for you and looked for you and cursed the moon when I couldn't find you! They brought you back not yourself and I wasn't there to make you yourself again like a good girl should!" She spat at his feet. "Now you have a new little girl, and Dru's out in the cold and rain looking in at the warm lights and Daddy doesn't care! Daddy doesn't see!"

"You were nothing to me," Giles said quietly. "Vampires don't feel. You were a pawn. A puppet."

A lie. Giles could remember his time as a vampire, sometimes with vivid clarity. Remember how he'd taken Dru under his wing, taught her how to fight, trained her in a variety of weapons that she'd no doubt used on innocent people. He remembered how he'd affectionately used her pet name, how he'd acted with animalistic fury against anyone who hurt her.

She had been his daughter.

It was a sickening thought.

Drusilla suddenly smiled again. "But you remember, don't you? What lovely fun it was? Blood on your teeth, and the world at your fingers! A world of deer, and you the lion! No fear, no foes!" She took a hesitant step forward, looking up at him with hopeful eyes, suddenly contrite and humble even in her hunting form. "Would you like it again, Daddy? Don't you remember me? Don't you want me to be your dear little Dru again? It doesn't hurt a bit. All it takes is one…little…bite."

Mesmerized by her voice, he'd let her get too close. In a blur she grabbed him, twisting his arm behind his back and pinning him against the door.

"Don't you love me?" she whispered in his ear.

"Buffy should have staked you years ago!" Giles snapped back.

Dru let out her little keening wail. "Oh, the bad Slayer! She's everywhere, she's everywhere! She took my Spike from me, took him away, and now I'm all alone! And I can see her in your mind, see her laughing at me! She's sitting there, sitting there in the warmth, and she's laughing at me!"

"There's a reason for that," Giles growled.

Drusilla was panting, breathing heavily. She was agitated, and when she was agitated she was even more dangerous.

But she was also just a bit easier to manage…for those who knew her well.

He elbowed her hard in the stomach, and got enough leeway to lash out with the cross. He heard it connect, heard her scream, felt himself released. He whirled around as she backed off, rubbing her cheek. It was still smoking where the cross had hit it, and her lower lip was quivering again.

"Oh, my poor Daddy…" she whispered. "They have you now, and you're lost to me. They're surrounding you, and I can't see you! They take your love, grab it like dogs, and you have none left for me!"

He'd thought that, with the cross in his hands, she'd be warier. But when Drusilla was agitated, she was also far less predictable.

She snarled.

She lunged.

And there was suddenly a pain in his neck, a sharp and shooting pain as Drusilla sank her fangs in and began to drink.

He realized with dread that it was going to happen again. She'd change him, and he'd be the monster again. He'd hunt them down, all of them, and with Dru at his side they would all die…

Suddenly, the pain was gone. Giles collapsed to the ground, dizzy and weak. Pushing himself onto his hands and knees, he saw that Drusilla had once again resumed her spot on the edge of the porch.

"I see now…" she said, his blood on her fangs. "I see…so, so lost. All gone. And I can't help you. I can taste it. I can feel it. Daddy's all gone again. No more darkness, no more destruction, no more blood. No more fun. No more Dru."

Suddenly, she brightened. She smiled at him.

"I think I'll go and get my Spike now. After all, he's the one who showed you how nice it was, wasn't he? He's the one who gave you your first taste." She waved at him, and giggled happily. "So just sit tight, Daddy! I'll be back!"

And with that, she turned on her heel and walked down the path. Giles was left there, blood trickling from the holes in his neck. His heart pounded. His head swam.

Slowly, dazedly, he got to his feet. He somehow managed to get the key into the lock, and stumble inside. He collapsed on the couch almost immediately, and that was the last thing he remembered for a very long time.


	2. Lost Blood and Lost Years

"Mr. Giles…Mr. Giles?"

His eyelids flickered, and he realized that someone was sitting next to him and the room was lighter. He tried to focus, and realized next that his glasses were off.

As if they'd noticed, the person slipped his glasses onto his face, and he realized that it was Tara.

"Tara?" he asked sleepily, pushing himself into a sitting position. Almost immediately a wave of dizziness hit him, and if Tara hadn't gripped his shoulders again he knew he would have collapsed.

"Yeah," she said. "It's me. Giles, you lost a lot of blood. It's everywhere. Why didn't you call the hospital?"

"I couldn't manage to stay conscious," he muttered. "You say I lost a lot of blood?"

Tara swallowed, and nodded. "A whole lot. Like, maybe a pint's worth. It looked bad for a while. I managed to stop the bleeding, but you should probably see a doctor."

And then, he remembered. His hand flew to his neck, where it encountered a gauze bandage. His heart thumped in his chest.

"Is Buffy all right?" were the first words out of his mouth.

Tara shrugged. "I don't know. Willow told me that she was going to go talk with Spike, but…"

"Oh, my God…" Giles whispered. He tried to get up from the couch, but the world swam and he found himself on his knees.

"Giles, stay," Tara begged. "That was last night, and since the sun's up I'd guess she said what she had to say. Either that, or we have no more Spike."

"Not necessarily a bad thing."

Tara smiled briefly. "What happened? You got jumped?"

He winced. "Yes. Ah…I suppose I really should go to the hospital, shouldn't I?"

"You really should."

Until he could confer with Buffy, he was in the dark as to the events of last night, whether they had resulted in injury, death, or dust.

Until he knew, he didn't want to take any chances.

Not with _her _out there.

He made a decision.

"I'll go in a while. But first, Tara, I'll need you to help me cast the de-invitation spell."

Her eyes went wide. "Oh. For Spike?" She helped him to his feet. "You think things went that bad?"

"I'm afraid they might have, yes."

"Okay. I'll get the stuff together."

She made Giles sit down, and he did. He sat, trying not to be sick as Tara moved around the house gathering supplies. Until…

"Uh-oh."

"What?"

"You're out of garlic."

"You're_ joking_."

"Uh-uh. No garlic."

"Bloody hell. I guess I'll need to…"

Tara snapped her fingers at him. "No! You're gonna go to the hospital, and I'm gonna get the garlic and cast the spell. _Capiche?_"

He stared at her. She stared back, scowling fiercely…and then seemed to realize what she was doing, and wilt a little bit.

"Please?" she asked, much more meekly.

He liked Tara. In many cases, he could trust Tara with information he could not trust the other Scoobies with. This was because Tara, along with Anya, had never known him as a vampire. They only knew him as the human who had returned to Sunnydale a few weeks ago, confused and awkward but still very human.

In other words, their conversations could be a lot less awkward because he had never tried to kill her.

In honor of that, he conceded and held up his hands.

"Very well."

She smiled. "Good! I'll drive you over, then I'll stop by the shop…"

"No. _Not _the Magic Shop. I don't want the others to know about this, Tara."

She raised an eyebrow. "But why? They'll want to know if you got jumped. It could be something Buffy has to worry about, and…"

"It _is _something Buffy has to worry about," said Giles with a sigh. "But…don't. Please? Let's just go."

* * *

They did. Giles was left at the hospital to get checked over. Tara went over to pick up the ingredients for the de-invitation spell. Giles was given some pills to take to elevate his blood count, but the damage had been largely offset by Tara's quick first aid.

And, after that, he went back home to wait for Tara. He wanted to cast the de-invitation spell, and be able to forget the events of last night entirely. Forget them, and without anyone ever knowing that Dru had come to call…

He got out of the car, took a deep breath as he stood up too fast and the world tilted unpleasantly, looked up again, and saw Buffy sitting on his doorstep, chin in her hands, very clearly waiting for him.

* * *

_He walked up the path and there she was, sitting on his doorstep with her chin in her hands. She smiled bleakly as she saw him approach._

_"Hey there."_

_He raised a hand in greeting, but said nothing because he could think of nothing to say. She'd been waiting for him. There was no other explanation for it._

_"So…" she stood up and walked over to him, hands locked behind her back. "Back from the grave. How's it feel?"_

_"Strange," he admitted. "It's rather hard to believe that its been two years since I've been…gone."_

_"You've missed out on a lot." She was still smiling so sadly. "Guess you've noticed that the library's gone."_

_"That little detail was hard to _miss_, Buffy."_

_"Yeah. I wondered for a bit how you'd feel about it, but…" she shrugged helplessly. "You kinda weren't around to ask. A hundred pounds o' dynamite. A real Scooby-graduation. And now I'm doin' the college thing. Me and Willow. And Tara…well, you've met Tara."_

_He nodded. He didn't know what she was getting at, and for now was content for her to make her point._

_She did._

_"Giles, do you have any idea how weird this is for me?"_

_He nodded. "Yes."_

_"I mean, I'd…I'd just gotten over you being gone…"_

_He stuck his hands in his pockets, feeling uncomfortable._

_"You want me to leave again?" he finally asked._

_Buffy bit her lip, and to his shame she looked like she was trying not to cry. "No…but…" She shook her head, and her voice was starting to break. "This is just too much…way too much…I'm happy, but…it's been so long…_

_…just…I need time, Giles…you can understand that, can't you? I'll…I'll keep in touch…I just…need some time. Okay?"_

* * *

"Dru stopped by to say 'hello', huh?" asked Buffy in the present day.

"What makes you think it was Dru?" he asked guardedly.

She smiled wryly. "Giles, please. Dru loves to ramble. If it wasn't for the fact that I was kinda tied up, I'd have dropped by sooner."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. How 'bout you?"

"Better than I could be."

Buffy pulled a small paper bag out of the bushes and held it up for inspection. "Tara says you need a de-invite buddy."

"Well, I intended for it to be Tara."

"Willow needed a 'portable-ball-of-sunlight' buddy. So, I'm the replacement. Deal."

He sighed. "Oh, fine."

Together, they set up the preparations and went to work. First, they un-invited Drusilla. After that, on Buffy's recommendation, they repeated the spell for Spike.

"Things really went that badly?" he asked, as they prepared the spell a second time.

"Lemme put it this way. Dark crypt. Me in chains. Psycho Spike, psycho Dru, really big stake, really hungry vamp. That badly."

* * *

I wasn't too sure about this chapter. Seemed slow. Thoughts?


	3. Never the Same

I ended up accidentally straying into _I Was Made to Love You_. Considering how much more Giles and Spike hate each other in this universe, it got really ugly really quickly. And, hey, Dawnie helps out. I find myself rather fond of Dawn.

* * *

At that time, in the safety of his apartment, he hadn't thought too much about what must have happened. Buffy was all right, that was what mattered. Spike was still alive, but Giles was rapidly gaining the ability to overlook Spike's existence…

Until…

Giles could feel the rage building up. And, as always happened when he got very angry, he found himself getting very, very quiet. He felt all his muscles tensed, and knew he'd like nothing better than to toss the blonde vampire who'd just entered his shop back out into the street and the sun. Spike had come in here looking for support. After what he'd done to Buffy…

"Spike," he said softly. "You're not welcome here."

"Yeah!" said Willow, scowling fiercely. "And we're working on a spell to de-invite you! Even if it is a public place!"

"Nah, forget it!" said Xander easily, giving Spike an unpleasant smile. "Letting him in is good 'cause then we get to toss him out!"

"Ooh!" said Anya, brightening up immediately. "Can we throw him out the window like that robot did? Cause that was neat!"

"A _robot_?" asked Spike in amazement, apparently oblivious to the rapidly worsening mood of the crowd surrounding him on all sides. "Is _that _what she was?"

He looked around at them all, and Giles saw the knowledge dawning that he had just stumbled into a den of very angry Scoobies.

Then, he spotted Dawn, skulking near Tara. "Hey! Someone's glad to see me! Aren't you, Little Bit?"

Dawn inched behind Tara, giving him a ferocious scowl.

"Stay away from me," the littlest Scooby growled.

"I think it's time for you to go, Spike," said Willow, folding her arms.

"Yeah, take your blanket and go!" chimed in Anya.

Giles, who had found himself a little behind Spike, removed his glasses and tried to stay calm. Tried to stay focused while the large majority of him was all for staking Spike right here and now. He'd never accepted the idea that Spike was harmless. His memories of Spike were of a vampire sometimes as bad as Angelus.

"Okay, look," said Spike, holding up his hands, and his conciliatory tone of voice immediately worsened the mood of the gang by a further several degrees. "I was afraid of this. Misrepresentations, misunderstandings, slurs, and allegations. I don't know what Buffy told you, but the this is, the Slayer and I worked together, side by side, to get rid of Dru, who was up to no good I don't mind telling you…"

Giles removed his glasses and stepped forward. "Spike, listen to me…" he said, and even he was amazed at how perfectly calm he sounded. Amazed, because the air of injured innocence Spike wore like a shawl had shattered what little tolerance he'd had for the vampire…

"I'm just I'm tryin' to explain!" said Spike quickly. "She might have said some things that sound like I expressed some kind of feelin'…"

Giles lost it. He shoved Spike against the bookshelves, and heard the others gasp. The sight of his former sire, standing there and justifying what he'd tried to do to her…the sight of his former partner in evil, standing there like he had a right to exist in the same world as them…

"We are not your friends," he said coldly. "We are not your way to Buffy. There _is _no way to Buffy."

He clamped down on the anger, because if it went too far he'd do something he'd regret. When he was this angry, he got too close to…

Giles ended the thought there, picked up Spike's blanket, and tossed it at him. "Clear out of here. And Spike, this thing…get over it."

"Don't know what you mean," said Spike innocently.

Giles…exhaled. His entire body relaxed. Apparently normal as ever, he moved behind his desk, fumbling for something. Spike stared at him, as did the rest of the gang, until…

The stake shot through the air and lodged in Spike's chest, a few centimeters from the heart. Spike roared in pain, clutching at the wood, and staring in surprise at Giles. "What the bloody hell…?"

"Yes, you do," said Giles fiercely. "Move the hell on."

Spike staggered back, and with an almighty effort ripped the stake free and tossed it on the floor. He glared at Giles…then, he smirked.

"You sure you got brought back a human, boss?" he asked. "'Cause it seems to me, you've still got a touch of vamp in you."

"Giles, no!" Xander cried as Giles moved forward. The Watcher's eyes held the light of murder. Xander flung out an arm, and Giles stopped, glaring at Spike with the utmost loathing. Spike chuckled, and flung his blanket over his shoulders.

"Maybe Dru was right!" he taunted. "Maybe you'd be better off as one of us. What d'you think, Rupert? All it takes is one little bite. For you…or for your Slayer."

Giles shoved Xander out of the way and grabbed the splintered stake from the floor. He advanced on Spike, who took to his heels.

_"Get out of my shop!"_ Giles yelled after him, as the blanket caught fire in the sunlight. _"If I ever see you again I'll make Angelus look like a goddamn Boy Scout!"_

Then, shaking with anger, incoherent with rage, Giles retreated from the worried or outright terrified eyes of the other Scoobies. He turned on his heel and retreated into the training room, where he sat on the log horse with the lights out and his head in his hands and he did not allow himself to return to the sunlight.

* * *

He stayed there until he heard footsteps. He raised his head a few inches, and saw Dawn standing there in the doorway.

"You know you're not allowed in here," he said dully.

"I…I know," she said, twisting her fingers. She swallowed and balled her fists. "A-Are you gonna throw me out?"

He returned his head to his hands, and shook it. "No. Do whatever the hell you want."

He heard her move into the center of the room…and then she sat down next to him.

"What was it like?" she asked, after a moment.

"What was what like?"

Dawn took a deep breath, and then:

"Being…you know. What you were then. A…"

"Vampire."

"Yeah. What…what was it like?"

He raised his head again, and this time he did not lower it. "Why the sudden interest, Dawn?"

She shrugged. "I…I dunno. I just…maybe we can figure out why Spike's acting like such a…"

"Pillock?"

"Yeah."

Giles shook his head. "There's no explanation for it. Vampires are what they are…and what they are is evil." He paused, and then…

"I was, after all."

Dawn smiled nervously. "I know. You, ah…tried to kill me. A couple of times."

"You're just lucky Joyce knew not to let me into the house," Giles countered. "Or things would have gone very badly for you. You…saw what happened to the others."

"Giles, that was years ago."

"Not for me."

"But for us, it was. Years. Right now, we're just glad to have you back." She took a deep breath. "You keep worrying that you're still a vamp, and you're not." She stood up. "Well…I'd better get home. Homework, and all. It's a horrible thing, but…" She crossed to the doorway, but stopped just before she turned the person and looked back.

Dawn flashed him a very small smile. "You're a good person, Giles. Trust me on this."

He flashed a smile in return. "I suppose I can take your word for it."

She left, with an admonishment to leave the lights on so he did not go blinder. And he did, but he still sat in the training room for a very long time, with very dark and murky thoughts swirling around his head.

* * *

That is the definitive end of it. Sorry. But there might be stuff on _The Body_, because I just watched that today. And, at some point, I might get around to actually chronicalling Giles' return.

But no (immediate) promises. School is a _killer_.


End file.
